2:37 PM: A citizen flagged down a police officer to inform him of a street fight at Morse and Glenwood. Police arrive and ask for an ambulance at 1345 West Morse.
Off topic...but does anyone know if the Howard Street initiative is still in effect? I have not seen the concentration of police cruising the area North of Howard the past few days.
I wonder if our new commander (if we have one) is going to keep the effort to clean this area up.
Holy cow.. Just found your blog. Am glad I did! I have my own and have been writing about moving from NYC to Chicago. I found a sublease in Rogers Park..but after seeing your blog, am re-thinking my choice of neighborhood!
tudor - where is your sublease? I moved from the near north side up here 1 1/2 years ago. We do have an Alderman that doesn't do much for the area and people get very angry about him on this blog. We also have our share of thugs, but I doubt more than you are used to in NYC. I walk down Sheridan and the lake all the time with no problems. **Hmmm Craig - maybe we need some positive stuff on here! LOL
Bosworth, I believe the commander retired recently. I don't know whether or not that spelled the end of the Howard St initiative, but I live in that neighborhood and have not seen the level of police activity that we were seeing in the past few months. Then again, it could be that some of our police are deployed elsewhere (for Taste of Chicago or covering other districts).
Tudor - Don't be worried about moving to RP. Yes, there is a lot of thugs, but you will also find a lot of great people. RP is a beautiful area and I am sure that you would love it there.
Calm down, Tudor. It's a good neighborhood, just has its share of "bad elements"...ok, maybe a bit more than some others. But you'll be OK. I mean, you're coming from NYC, right?
This is why I recommend people moving to Chicago, even moving within Chicago, visit the areas they're considering in the daytime AND night to see for themselves.
At our last CAPS meeting, just last week, I asked the acting commander about the Howard Street Initiative. His answer was that it was ongoing, with a commitment to continue through at least December.
Tudor City Girl, Rogers Park is a very large neighborhood. There are almost 70,000 people that live in "Rogers Park". It is a small city itself population wise. The City in general is a block by block proposition. One block can be stellar, and an adjoining block not so much. It's just funny that way. And withing "Rogers Park" there are something like 8 distinct sub-neighborhoods or areas. Your experience here will be most effected by the; 1, building you move into, and your immediate neighbors, 2, the block that building is on,3, and the sub-area of Rogers Park that you locate in. As long as you are not, or at least don't act like a drunk idiot oblivious to your surroundings at 3:00 in the morning, you will be fine and probably end up wondering what that blog was talking about.
Re Good news, well this IS Craig's Blog, he makes a good point regarding organizations that get paid to promote the area yet fail to do so. That said, I too feel that Craig is FAR TOO NEGATIVE in how his postings reflect on the area. Craig, sincerely, please take a moment and reflect on your goals for our area. You are a spotlight on the Alder-Fool and his "Crime is Down" mantra (which is actually true-nobody says crime has ended), and in this role you are BRILLIANT. However, because of the blogs prominence people-especially outsiders- get a VERY distorted image of the area. Your strength is keeping the heat on the Alder-Fool, Dev Corp, TIPS shenanigans, and so forth. That is a true Public Service, and I thank you for your years of doing so. I learned tons about the area-too much really- going through your archives when I first discovered the Broken Heart.
So, what is the goal? Do we want encourage people to discover the riches of RP so that they move here and participate in the ongoing improvement, or do we want to perpetuate an image of the area that is dated and frightening? The improvements in the area, in the quality of life here are staggering when added up over the past few years. Great strides forward have occurred -despite the idiocy of our local officials-.
Personally I feel that you should dial down the crime crime crime angle, - posting links to two years of crime as your "lead" for a week now really distorts perceptions of people thinking about a move to the area. And journalistically speaking, lazy as well. How does that help us? After all, You live here too.
Tudor, don't be scared off. There is more to Rogers Park than crime. We have the lake, access to transportation and lower rents than the rest of the city. If you can take a walk around your new neighborhood, at night and in the day. Some areas are wonderful, though we do have pockets that are not, and some corners change at night. where is the sublease?we can give you the skinny on the blocks around there.
TudorCityGirl, this is MOSTLY a lovely neighborhood that happens to have a few bad pockets.
If you lived in Brooklyn, NY, ever, for any long period, you know what I mean. Mostly great, and very beautiful and colorful, but with some pockets you are careful in and others you avoid.
I've lived up here for 12 years and mostly love it. I love living on Pratt close to Sheridan. I hated living in the 1500 block of W. Fargo. I've found that you tend to do better if you stay east of the el tracks south of Jarvis.
tudorgirl-come on up. craig doesn't lie...there's a lot of shenanigans that go on here from the alderman to the thugs. but you'll find that (or worse) in virtually every neighborhood in Chicago. at least here you have tree-lined streets, a nice, huge beach, folks attempting to bring in businesses and restaurants, etc. my grandparents lived here, my dad grew up here, and now i live here. is it the same as it used to be? let's just say diversity sounds like a wonderful idea, but sometimes it doesn't quite work out. that being said, the more sane people we have, theoretically, the less insane ones we'll have
To those concentrating on the sunny side of Rogers Park (which does actually exist): Stray gunfire doesn't seem like a good thing for a neighborhood. There are far worse places than RP in the city, but we shouldn't be overly pleased with its current crime numbers.
Ask Memphis, TN what happens when neighborhoods exceed a critical threshold of "stupids." It's here: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/memphis-crime
Not sayin' RP is anywhere near that, but you can see how it would happen.
Tudor Girl, I grew up in Chicago neighborhoods that were and still are much worse than Rogers Park. It's all a matter of being aware of where you are at all times.
ilht said: "Tudor City Girl, Rogers Park is a very large neighborhood. There are almost 70,000 people that live in "Rogers Park".
ilht, the boundaries of Rogers Park are: Ridge Avenue East to the Lake; Howard Street South to Devon Avenue. What you are describing(70,000 residents) is the 49th Ward, which is a larger area, geographically and population wise.
And yes, TudorCity Girl, don't be 'put off' by the coverage of the negatives in Rogers Park; the positives far out weigh the problems we are dealing with. Most importantly, what we need is new Aldermanic leadership. It will come. In the meantime, join us and enjoy the many great people and places found on 'Chicago's North Coast, at the Top of Chicago'!
I try to maintain a schedule where I'm not in an immediate space at a time when I'm vunerable to life-threatening situations-easier to conceive than accomplish ;)
I certainly appreciate the police,community minded people and priests.
Priests such as the one which Karl Malden portrayed in the classic On the Waterfront. There's Karl:In the mix by challenging the minds of young thugs,halting aggression and stifling the syndicate with some good ole' indignant righteousness! His absence is felt.
I lived in Gold Coast and then Lakeview. I think what makes me craziest up here is the trash and the littering that people do. What's with the complete idiots that put big bags of trash next to the barrels on Sheridan? They can't walk to the alley???? I walk the dogs around the park by the lake on a nice day and I am amazed at the pigs that people are. Even though they are steps from a trash can, they throw stuff all over the ground. Thank god the park crew comes by the next morning but you have to be so careful with the animals - people have left food everywhere! I guess it's all in how people are raised! I watched a large group of people with their tent etc. pack up their belongings and just leave garbage everywhere - it took everything I had not to walk over there and explain to their kids how wrong it is.
Besides, tudorgirl, it's people like YOU that will help improve Rogers Park, people that are actually concerned about where they live and what's going on. Who knows, you might become an active member of the community joining up to fight the problems that exist here. Like others have said, there are problems in RP, but nothing that active citizens and good leadership can't fix. It might be coming soon. You should be a part of the transformation. There's a reason why gangs don't run around Lakeview and Lincoln Park with abandon (anymore at least): the people and the cops and the aldermen wouldn't put up with it. It could happen in RP. Someday.
This is the first time I have written but just wanted to say how much I agree with razldazlrr. I write to the alderman's office almost daily about some of the filthy buildings in RP-like 6972 Sheridan and 6720 Sheridan. There is trash all around both buildings that is never picked up. There are some real pigs in the neighborhood who think nothing of throwing their styrofoam food containers, chip bags and beer cans anywhere they feel like it.
I also complain to the Alderman's office all the time about the trash and the trashy buildings. Maybe they don't do anything about it, but I want them to know we are aware of it!
25 comments:
Know how many were involved? Was it one on one or a plethora of thugs?
I saw it. The were 4 marked cars and 4 un marked. There was also an ambulance. The took the person into custody bet went to St. Francis with him.
Off topic...but does anyone know if the Howard Street initiative is still in effect? I have not seen the concentration of police cruising the area North of Howard the past few days.
I wonder if our new commander (if we have one) is going to keep the effort to clean this area up.
Holy cow.. Just found your blog. Am glad I did! I have my own and have been writing about moving from NYC to Chicago. I found a sublease in Rogers Park..but after seeing your blog, am re-thinking my choice of neighborhood!
Bosworth...I haven't heard anything about it on the scanner recently.
yes tudor girl
i would to if hell on earth was what rogers park was.
Btw there are now granite countertops in Jb albertos
and the inside and outside have been spruced up immensely,
exposed brick walls inside.
Beautiful.
But craig wont cover that.
He will just post a two liner about crime.
which i am glad to know
but is kinda boring and onesided
@ TCG
I found a sublease in Rogers Park..but after seeing your blog, am re-thinking my choice of neighborhood!
Craig can have that affect on people. Don't worry he is harmless...
Stick around Tudor Girl
tudor - where is your sublease? I moved from the near north side up here 1 1/2 years ago. We do have an Alderman that doesn't do much for the area and people get very angry about him on this blog. We also have our share of thugs, but I doubt more than you are used to in NYC. I walk down Sheridan and the lake all the time with no problems.
**Hmmm Craig - maybe we need some positive stuff on here! LOL
===Hmmm Craig - maybe we need some positive stuff on here! LOL===
Here's the problem. There's lot's of organizations that get paid big bucks with your tax dollars to promote the neighborhood.
They just do a really lousy job.
Bosworth, I believe the commander retired recently. I don't know whether or not that spelled the end of the Howard St initiative, but I live in that neighborhood and have not seen the level of police activity that we were seeing in the past few months. Then again, it could be that some of our police are deployed elsewhere (for Taste of Chicago or covering other districts).
Tudor - Don't be worried about moving to RP. Yes, there is a lot of thugs, but you will also find a lot of great people. RP is a beautiful area and I am sure that you would love it there.
Calm down, Tudor. It's a good neighborhood, just has its share of "bad elements"...ok, maybe a bit more than some others. But you'll be OK. I mean, you're coming from NYC, right?
This is why I recommend people moving to Chicago, even moving within Chicago, visit the areas they're considering in the daytime AND night to see for themselves.
Re Howard Street Initiative.
At our last CAPS meeting, just last week, I asked the acting commander about the Howard Street Initiative. His answer was that it was ongoing, with a commitment to continue through at least December.
Tudor City Girl, Rogers Park is a very large neighborhood. There are almost 70,000 people that live in "Rogers Park". It is a small city itself population wise. The City in general is a block by block proposition. One block can be stellar, and an adjoining block not so much. It's just funny that way. And withing "Rogers Park" there are something like 8 distinct sub-neighborhoods or areas. Your experience here will be most effected by the; 1, building you move into, and your immediate neighbors, 2, the block that building is on,3, and the sub-area of Rogers Park that you locate in. As long as you are not, or at least don't act like a drunk idiot oblivious to your surroundings at 3:00 in the morning, you will be fine and probably end up wondering what that blog was talking about.
Re Good news, well this IS Craig's Blog, he makes a good point regarding organizations that get paid to promote the area yet fail to do so. That said, I too feel that Craig is FAR TOO NEGATIVE in how his postings reflect on the area. Craig, sincerely, please take a moment and reflect on your goals for our area. You are a spotlight on the Alder-Fool and his "Crime is Down" mantra (which is actually true-nobody says crime has ended), and in this role you are BRILLIANT. However, because of the blogs prominence people-especially outsiders- get a VERY distorted image of the area. Your strength is keeping the heat on the Alder-Fool, Dev Corp, TIPS shenanigans, and so forth. That is a true Public Service, and I thank you for your years of doing so. I learned tons about the area-too much really- going through your archives when I first discovered the Broken Heart.
So, what is the goal? Do we want encourage people to discover the riches of RP so that they move here and participate in the ongoing improvement, or do we want to perpetuate an image of the area that is dated and frightening? The improvements in the area, in the quality of life here are staggering when added up over the past few years. Great strides forward have occurred -despite the idiocy of our local officials-.
Personally I feel that you should dial down the crime crime crime angle, - posting links to two years of crime as your "lead" for a week now really distorts perceptions of people thinking about a move to the area. And journalistically speaking, lazy as well.
How does that help us? After all, You live here too.
Tudor, don't be scared off. There is more to Rogers Park than crime. We have the lake, access to transportation and lower rents than the rest of the city.
If you can take a walk around your new neighborhood, at night and in the day. Some areas are wonderful, though we do have pockets that are not, and some corners change at night.
where is the sublease?we can give you the skinny on the blocks around there.
TudorCityGirl, this is MOSTLY a lovely neighborhood that happens to have a few bad pockets.
If you lived in Brooklyn, NY, ever, for any long period, you know what I mean. Mostly great, and very beautiful and colorful, but with some pockets you are careful in and others you avoid.
I've lived up here for 12 years and mostly love it. I love living on Pratt close to Sheridan. I hated living in the 1500 block of W. Fargo. I've found that you tend to do better if you stay east of the el tracks south of Jarvis.
tudorgirl-come on up. craig doesn't lie...there's a lot of shenanigans that go on here from the alderman to the thugs. but you'll find that (or worse) in virtually every neighborhood in Chicago. at least here you have tree-lined streets, a nice, huge beach, folks attempting to bring in businesses and restaurants, etc. my grandparents lived here, my dad grew up here, and now i live here. is it the same as it used to be? let's just say diversity sounds like a wonderful idea, but sometimes it doesn't quite work out. that being said, the more sane people we have, theoretically, the less insane ones we'll have
To those concentrating on the sunny side of Rogers Park (which does actually exist): Stray gunfire doesn't seem like a good thing for a neighborhood. There are far worse places than RP in the city, but we shouldn't be overly pleased with its current crime numbers.
Ask Memphis, TN what happens when neighborhoods exceed a critical threshold of "stupids." It's here: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200807/memphis-crime
Not sayin' RP is anywhere near that, but you can see how it would happen.
Tudor Girl, I grew up in Chicago neighborhoods that were and still are much worse than Rogers Park. It's all a matter of being aware of where you are at all times.
ilht said: "Tudor City Girl, Rogers Park is a very large neighborhood. There are almost 70,000 people that live in "Rogers Park".
ilht, the boundaries of Rogers Park are: Ridge Avenue East to the Lake; Howard Street South to Devon Avenue. What you are describing(70,000 residents) is the 49th Ward, which is a larger area, geographically and population wise.
And yes, TudorCity Girl, don't be 'put off' by the coverage of the negatives in Rogers Park; the positives far out weigh the problems we are dealing with. Most importantly, what we need is new Aldermanic leadership. It will come. In the meantime, join us and enjoy the many great people and places found on 'Chicago's North Coast, at the Top of Chicago'!
I try to maintain a schedule where I'm not in an immediate space at a time when I'm vunerable to life-threatening situations-easier to conceive than accomplish ;)
I certainly appreciate the police,community minded people and priests.
Priests such as the one which Karl Malden portrayed in the classic On the Waterfront.
There's Karl:In the mix by challenging the minds of young thugs,halting aggression and stifling the syndicate with some good ole' indignant righteousness!
His absence is felt.
Ok, so I exaggerated a little. The population of Rogers Park as of 2000 is approximately 64,000.
http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/Rogers-Park-Chicago-IL.html
http://www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/1086.html
I lived in Gold Coast and then Lakeview. I think what makes me craziest up here is the trash and the littering that people do. What's with the complete idiots that put big bags of trash next to the barrels on Sheridan? They can't walk to the alley???? I walk the dogs around the park by the lake on a nice day and I am amazed at the pigs that people are. Even though they are steps from a trash can, they throw stuff all over the ground. Thank god the park crew comes by the next morning but you have to be so careful with the animals - people have left food everywhere! I guess it's all in how people are raised! I watched a large group of people with their tent etc. pack up their belongings and just leave garbage everywhere - it took everything I had not to walk over there and explain to their kids how wrong it is.
Besides, tudorgirl, it's people like YOU that will help improve Rogers Park, people that are actually concerned about where they live and what's going on. Who knows, you might become an active member of the community joining up to fight the problems that exist here. Like others have said, there are problems in RP, but nothing that active citizens and good leadership can't fix. It might be coming soon. You should be a part of the transformation. There's a reason why gangs don't run around Lakeview and Lincoln Park with abandon (anymore at least): the people and the cops and the aldermen wouldn't put up with it. It could happen in RP. Someday.
This is the first time I have written but just wanted to say how much I agree with razldazlrr. I write to the alderman's office almost daily about some of the filthy buildings in RP-like 6972 Sheridan and 6720 Sheridan. There is trash all around both buildings that is never picked up. There are some real pigs in the neighborhood who think nothing of throwing their styrofoam food containers, chip bags and beer cans anywhere they feel like it.
I also complain to the Alderman's office all the time about the trash and the trashy buildings. Maybe they don't do anything about it, but I want them to know we are aware of it!
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